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Artist
Drawing influences from artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder, and the Allman Brothers Band, this six-person musical group includes Ray Johnston as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Cooper Applet (bass), Bobby Sparks (organ, keyboard), Keith Anderson (sax), Jeff Randall (drums) and William Barnes (lead guitar). Ray Johnston’s journey to becoming a professional musician has been one of triumph, set backs, and pure inspiration. After being spotted at a three-on-three basketball tournament in Dallas he was selected to join the Dallas Mavericks. During his first game on the team he collided with another player and developed a large bruise on his leg. After being checked by doctors, he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia and was immediately admitted to the hospital. After three months in a coma, and flat-lining twice, he awoke with a dream of becoming a professional musician. When he was released from the hospital, Ray formed a band and started touring. Since that time he has relapsed 4 times; after a successful bone marrow transplant his cancer is now in remission. His tour was filmed by HDNet and was turned into "Ray Johnston Band: Road Diaries," an eight-part docu-series that follows Johnston on his pursuit of music as well as his fight against cancer. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.